Daily Photo Galleries

Plum Photo Galleries

Plum Emergency Medical Services has adopted that simple statement to tell people they may need an ambulance when they least expect it — for a heart attack, stroke, car crash, or choking incident. The message is going out as part of its 2013 subscription drive.

The ambulance service will try other marketing strategies to educate people and boost its $40 yearly subscriptions above the 32 percent response rate.

“We are trying to get 68 percent (of residents and businesses) to support the EMS,” Deputy Director Bob Moran told council this month. “It's not in your tax dollars. It is not funded like the police department, and we are staffed 24/7.”

Moran said subscriptions, insurance reimbursements, donations and borough funding pays for the service's $1.2 million budget.

“It's tough to meet (the budget),” he said. “... If everyone gave some money we could beat this problem.”

Plum EMS in coming months will mail subscription letters to residents and business owners, Director Tom Izydore said. It might use social media to get the word out, too, Moran said. It will post two videos on its website, www.plumems.com.

Plum High School students in a TV production class worked with the EMS to videotape a typical ambulance call. Forbes Regional Hospital officials permitted the students to videotape a simulated situation in an operating room.

“It was a great experience for the students,” said teacher Rick Berrott.

Izydore said Plum EMS will show the video to community groups such as PTAs and senior citizen groups.

“It will be part of our presentation of what Plum EMS is all about,” Izydore said.

Another video features Plum residents who used the EMS telling their stories.

“As a result of calling Plum EMS, they are here today,” Moran said.

Educational programs for subscribers include a cardiopulmonary resuscitation class for infants and adults. That teaches parents how to take care of children, and is free for two people in a household, Moran said.

A planned youth day will teach youngsters about the EMS and the purpose of equipment in an ambulance.

For seniors, Plum EMS plans to offer home inspections in which ambulance service personnel will look for potential tripping hazards and other safety hazards.

An ambulance trip can cost a nonsubscriber $1,000 or more.

“We are a vital part of the community,” Moran said. “And people take the EMS for granted.”

Council President Mike Doyle praised the EMS for the initiatives.

“You guys are really thinking outside the box,” Doyle said.

Karen Zapf is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-856-7400, ext. 8753, or kzapf@tribweb.com.

TribLive commenting policy

You are solely responsible for your comments and by using TribLive.com you agree to our Terms of Service.

We moderate comments. Our goal is to provide substantive commentary for a general readership. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information.

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderating decisions are subjective. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Because of the volume of reader comments, we cannot review individual moderation decisions with readers.

We value thoughtful comments representing a range of views that make their point quickly and politely. We make an effort to protect discussions from repeated comments  either by the same reader or different readers.

We follow the same standards for taste as the daily newspaper. A few things we won't tolerate: personal attacks, obscenity, vulgarity, profanity (including expletives and letters followed by dashes), commercial promotion, impersonations, incoherence, proselytizing and SHOUTING. Don't include URLs to Web sites.

We do not edit comments. They are either approved or deleted. We reserve the right to edit a comment that is quoted or excerpted in an article. In this case, we may fix spelling and punctuation.

We welcome strong opinions and criticism of our work, but we don't want comments to become bogged down with discussions of our policies and we will moderate accordingly.

We appreciate it when readers and people quoted in articles or blog posts point out errors of fact or emphasis and will investigate all assertions. But these suggestions should be sent via e-mail. To avoid distracting other readers, we won't publish comments that suggest a correction. Instead, corrections will be made in a blog post or in an article.

Print Source

Welcome to PrintSource, a division of Trib Total Media.

We have established a veteran team that provides daily and weekly newspaper companies with a comprehensive set of services that include design, print, packaging and delivery of their products, all from one source and location.

Gone are the days when each facet of newspaper printing and delivery had to be outsourced to different companies and venues. Now, PrintSource provides a viable solution with just one phone call.

Digital Sales

We offer a wide variety of traditional and new digital advertising options customized to fit your needs!

Whether you're just starting out, or you've been a keystone in the community for years, our knowledgeable staff can provide you with a customized package including online banners/advertisements, Social Media Marketing (Facebook / Twitter), Website development, Search Engine Optimization, Email Marketing solutions and much more!

Contact your local sales rep today for details, personalized proposal and a meeting to discuss how we can meet your needs.